comment je t'aime

On Tuesday we went to the musée d'orsay for a quick tour. it's fantastic; it's in an old train station and has entire rooms of manet, van gogh, monet, and cezanne. Rodin is everywhere; in the gardens at the museums outside the train station. It felt like meeting celebrities because i've studied so many of these pieces, including this Manet of a prostitute.

classes: definitely writing (american students @ Reid Hall), and translation (Sorbonne), I'll try differential equations (Paris VI), and ethics (Sorbonne), and maybe 'learning to view sculpture and painting' (Sorbonne). I have my first homework due tomorrow for a grammar review session; it's remarkable how much I've forgotten since high school or never learned.

i've taken to watching french TV and it's too much fun. Tonight I watched two documentaries, one was 'le sexe, c'est la sante' which translates to 'sex, it's health' and 'mr. big: grandeure est decadance du penis'. I'm still don't understand a lot of what is said but I get the gist of it. Random facts: if a baby's thingy is between 1 and 2.5 cm, it's not acceptable as either sex organ, so they generally chop it down and the baby becomes a girl. Also, while male heart rates are like jumping off a cliff (or some idiomatic phrase like that), females are more like bell curves when having sex.

This is a picture of Alex and our lunch the other day; the cheapest meal I've had so far- a baguette for a euro, a pear for another, and some goat cheese that we split. SO simple, so cheap, so delicious. We went on an hour and a half walk to find this famous bakery, which turned out to be closed on Mondays. Oh well, it worked out in deliciousness anyway.

The longer I'm here, the more and less I think that everywhere is the same. The Paris Metro looks exactly like New York but cleaner; we even got a crazy hobo guy the other night. Food here is delicious but it's still just food; today I again had bread and goat cheese for lunch. Classes are classes are classes, people are people are people. When I bought my beautiful French scarves the other day I had a great little conversation with the clerk girl who I think appreciated my trying French, albeit ungrammatically and brokenly. Emerson said it best, "I have no churlish objection to the circumnavigation of the globe ... so that the man ... does not go abroad with the hope of finding somewhat greater than he knows. He who travels to be amused, or to get somewhat which he does not carry, travels away from himself. ... At home I dream that at Naples, at Rome, I can be intoxicated with beauty, and lose my sadness. ... My giant goes with me wherever I go." Anyway, that whole idea is getting a bit too self-centered for me (despite the fact that this is on a blog, already the epitome of narcissism as it imagines that any life is worth reading about). We'll see what I have to say on the subject of travel later.

The weather right now is rainy and chilly, which is bad because tomorrow we're heading out on the Seine in a boat for a tour or something like that. I love walking around this city, looking at the architecture, the hiply dressed people (EVERYONE here dresses well, and all pants are very skinny though not tight), the public art and historical monuments, the cobblestoned streets, the crazy drivers, the rental bikes (there are stations everywhere; you can rent a bike for half and hour and return it somewhere else for free), the cafes where all the chairs face out so you can people watch, the brasseries and boulangeries and charcuteries. It really is beautiful.

Graná, ¡Qué guay!

What up bitties?
This is a long one. First, check out this video. It's a montage of pictures of Granada with a soundtrack by a Spanish band called La Caja de Pandora.

Given that Yen seems to be posting with more regularity than me, I figured it was time to remedy the situation. I've got a few free minutes, I'm listening to Christina Aguilera's "Ven conmigo (Solamente Tú)" (for educational purposes only, I swear), and I've got a few pics to share. Prepare yourselves. The first pic is the view from my apartment window. ¡Joder!

Right now, I'm getting ready to go to the Institute for the International Education of Students, where I will have most of my classes. I'm trying to figure out my academic situation for the semester. One of the reasons I picked this program was that it allows me to take a mixture of courses with American students at IES and courses with Spaniards at la Universidad de Granada, both of which are within 15 minute walks from my apartment. I'm thinking of taking three classes at the IES center and two at the university. I plan on taking a Spanish grammar class, a literature class on Andalusian literature, an anthropology class and probably two history classes.

I've met some pretty cool people already. To the left are Erica and Brooke, both from Colorado. There are about 80 of us Americans in the IES program in Granada. There are also a few other programs here in Granada, and it is a very popular destination with backpackers. The other night, we met a group of Aussie backpackers and hung around with them for a while. "You can be honorary Aussies tonight," they told us. "But you've got to be able to drink a lot." But I think one of the best things about Granada is that not that many locals know English. It's a rather small city compared to Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla, and to me, it is quintessentially Spanish-- many of the houses are whitewashed with red tile roofs, everyone observes the afternoon siesta (though most people don't nap), and evening paseos (strolls) are popular. But it's also a very lively and youthful city. There are 60,000 students at the university and they are the the life of the town. It is an awesome place to study abroad. I am really happy. Just so you know.

We're given a lot of opportunities for extracurricular activities. I'm still trying to figure out when Spanish students find time to do work. It seems like people are always strolling, napping, going out, eating or in class. Something tells me I won't be getting much sleep once classes start. Oh well, I'll sleep when I'm dead, as they say. Tonight, I have practice with the IES fútbol team. Apparently we have a scrimmage against some guys from Uruguay tomorrow. Needless to say, a slaughter is guaranteed. I'm also going to participate in an intercambio with a university student. Intercambios are weekly meetings between foreigners and native students so that we can practice Spanish and they can work on their foreign language skills. I specifically requested a morena guapa, so if everything works out, I will have a smokin' Spanish girlfriend in no time. No problema.

I'll just leave you with this last picture because I think it's so cool. It's of my friend Erica and myself pointing at the cathedral (there's nothing like a nice posed picture), taken in the Albayzín (Moorish barrio) when we were walking back from Sacromonte a few days ago at dusk. The graffiti to the right is really typical of the city. I think this picture is the closest we've come to capturing Granada so far. I'll keep posting, but for now I've gotta run. Hasta luego, chicos.

allergic to cats

But I love them so so much! I'll post a pic of chou chou (his name is really ari but we all call him chou chou, translation to 'cabbage cabbage') later. He's huge and likes sitting on my lap and shedding everywhere and purrs like no other. He also sort of hates Alex a little, but enjoys crawling into her bed when shes not around and shedding everywhere. Good thing I chose this room, or else I'd be sneezing all night.

Today I walked around the Jardin de Tuilleries, saw the Musee d'Orsay, the Seine and its bridges, the Louvre, the Obilesque, the Eiffel Tower, and the Champs-Elysees (lots of walking). Unfortunately I left my memory card in my laptop so all my pictures are on my camera's memory and not transferable =/. I also bought an issue of Cosmo in French for only two euros! That, my friends, looks like an excellent way to practice reading French. And it's such a cute issue because it's Valentine's Day. We randomly ran into another girl in my program, Kate, and had some hot chocolate at Angelina's, some famous place next to the Tuilleries, and it was AMAZING- super thick, creamy and rich, served in little pots that we poured into our cups and topped with whipped cream.

I'm really failing at the pictures thing. Here's a picture of my crazy French keys: one for the front door of the apartment, one for the kitchen out of which I go to get to my room (the back door), one for the hallway that my room and a studio apartment is in, and one for my room.

Tomorrow is our grammar test, so Alex and I spent the evening in cramming from two French books and a dictionary while reading Cosmo aloud. Also, it looks like I'm going to be blogging a lot because I have lots of free time (which is great! I'm on vacation all the time!), so sorry if you hate reading my writing; just skip my posts and look for Brian's font.

In terms of classes, I can choose from ones at Paris IV (aka the Sorbonne), L'Institute Catholique, and Reid Hall (for international students). I think I'll take math (if my program director finds one for me), learning to view sculpture/painting, translation, and either 1) ethics or aesthetics or philosophy of science or 2) the 5th republic, writing, or french society and cinema. The 2) classes are for internationalites and start wednesday, the others are in french and for french etudiants and start in two weeks, on february 11th.

Spain is where it's at

Hola chicos. I am alive and well and enjoying my first week in Granada, in southern Spain. The city is amazing--easily walkable, full of narrow winding streets, old churches and open plazas. It's a really youthful city. I am living with a 30-year-old architect named Eugenia, her boyfriend Juanjo and their dog Enana. Our apartment is about 5-10 minutes from the university and the city center. The homestay has worked out really well so far--Eugenia and Juanjo are really easygoing and laid-back.

I'm on a completely different time schedule here. During the week, I get up, have a small breakfast of coffee, bread and fruit. Then I have class. Around 11, we usually have another "breakfast" of coffee and toast with tomato and olive oil. Lunch is at 2 at the earliest, and is the biggest meal of the day. Around 8, it's time for the paseo: the entire city is full of people taking an evening stroll. Dinner is around 10. We usually go to a tapas bar. In Granada, tapas (appetizers) are free with every drink, so it is easy to get an inexpensive light dinner.

One more thing before I go. Last night, I went to a bar built into Granada's bullring. It was called D'Cuadros and it was the most Eurotrash experience of my life. Needless to say, I was in heaven. I wish I had taken a picture of this place. Inside, everything was white--couches, tables, the bar, etc. The guys all had a pound of hair gel and the girls were all super trendy. Five of us Americans went in, and we felt pretty out of place. The music was Eurotechno and there were a lot of flashing colored lights. It was amazing. By the way, just to show you the extent of the difference in the concept of time, I came home at four last night and when I told my host "mom" that this morning, she said, "Oh, you came back so early. If you had gone to the discos you would have been back around 7." Here are a few pictures from my first week. I'll post more later. Hasta luego...

New Home!

Whoo so I'm in Paris (duh) and the flight was fine. Let's see... the hostel we were supposed to stay in was full so we stayed in a hotel instead, l'hotel de port royal, time for anecdotes.

Yen typifying a math major: I went to exchange my money for Euros and told the woman that I had $110 after double counting and double checking my french. She counted once, looked at me and said exasperated that I had in fact given her $135. The problem wasn't my French, but my counting.

On the way back from the airport: our director's nephew picked me up; he's a 20 year old bio student named Sam. Sitting on the train he started making fun of my bag and I of course played along. "How many terrorists fit in there?" "Oh, you know, two or three, but then there's not a lot of room for the bombs" "Yeah, that can be tough, but you could put the bombs in your other bag." "Definitely not, because then I'd have to put all those drugs in my big bag with the terrorists, and then I wouldn't have any left as a present for my host family." (All in French)

So I'm all set up in my home now in the 7th arrondissement; I have a room on the 6th floor of this apartment building and the family lives right downstairs on the 5th, which is great because it's very independent. I also have a fantastic view to the street below; that's the picture. There's another student named Alex from bard who's staying with the family too; she's great and it's fun to have someone else to explore with. They have a daughter Adele who's 20 too, but she's studying a lot right now for law tests or something. She wouldn't go out with us tonight because she was studying (how intense!). Also, we went out tonight with a bunch of English guys and people that Alex knows from Bard.

I've been walking around a bit, just the 6th and 7th arrondissements, got some good food at the cafes and such, picked up a phone across from a huge department store, au bon marche, checked out the luxembourg gardens (forgot my camera sorry!), and have been sleeping a bunch. Right now is one of the two state-enforced sales of the year, so I'll definitely be going shopping next week or the week after, during the last markdown (75% off big brands). Also, when Alex and I were walking earlier we saw our first demonstration, a little protest for rights for illegal immigrants. Pretty exciting stuff.

If you would like my address/would like mail from me and haven't told me yet, email me. Also, I'll try to go on AIM but it'll be around 4 pm EST and 1 pm PST.

Blog from the plane!

Here's my dawn blog, from the plane. According to this cool screen tracking thing we're just south of iceland right now. The sun is rising but I can't watch it directly because we closed all the windows and opening it would wake the guy across the aisle. There is however a camera mounted to the nose of the plane and to the bottom of the plane, and we can watch the world on these little jetblue-like screens. Also, my dinner was super cute. The last time I had a meal on a plane I think I was 6 or so, flying to California. All I remember was everything was plastic wrapped and we had plastic utensils. None of that for us flying Swiss; thank you! I realize that airplane meals are not new nor big news for most people I know, but this is my first time out of the country (!) and I found my meal so exciting that I took a picture of it.

It was also so exciting that I spilled tomato sauce on my pants AND initially didn't realize something important about the salad so had ranch dressing revealed to me that plastic wrap was, in fact, there.

Speaking of excitement, I can't wait to get there. I land in Zurich in about three and a half hours (it's 2:45 a.m. in pacific time right now); wow it's -59 C outside-just read the flight info. It's 11:45 a.m. in Zurich (and Paris and Granada) at the moment.

Based on Brian's absence from the blog since he arrived two days ago, I'm guessing I won't have time/the opportunity to blog anytime soon, hence the plane thing. But here are my thoughts at the moment/for the past few days/weeks:

1.) AAAAH I'm going to France aaaaah aaaaah aaaaaaaaaah!

2.) Hmm maybe I should study some French. I'll have time later.

3.) AAAAH France!

4.) Oh I know I'll watch a French movie (13 tzemeti was really good, and I liked la memoires des autres, though the subtitles translated the title as 'the moon over the snow'? also, i watched that on the plane. also the plane has numb3rs, simpsons, arrested development, and a host of newish movies)

5.) AAAAH.

AAAAH can be translated as excitement about travel/nervousness about meeting people/pure fear of french/anticipation of everything.

If it wouldn't wake up people on the plane, I'd so take a picture right now. It's a very empty flight; everyone in the middle is sprawled out and us on the sides are as well. Right now the woman in front of me is walking her baby up and down the aisles, which is cute. The guy across the plane did a few of those flirty looks and look-aways, then smiles earlier. Probably because I'm the only female nearby around college age.

Anyway, that's that from the plane. Looks like I wrote a lot considering nothing's happened. I imagine when I start actually doing stuff there'll be more pictures and less words. Til then, adios! I meant, au revoir!

Also, I've safely arrived in Paris, but don't have time to write now.

Buen viaje to me

Hey all. Bear with me--I've never written one of these blog-things before, and I've got a feeling I'm not going to be very good at it in the beginning. I'm also writing in a different font than the one Yen chose, so it's easier to tell who wrote what. Exciting.

I, like Yen, am packing for Europe, although I leave on Monday. I'm flying to Málaga, a city on Spain's southern coast, after a quick layover in Paris. From Málaga, I take a bus to Granada to meet my host family and start orientation before classes begin.

At this point, I'm more excited than nervous. My plan to brush up on Spanish and watch a whole slew of Spanish films over break failed miserably, though. My only recent preparation for Spain has been a viewing of Superbad dubbed in Spanish that I managed to squeeze in. Yes, you laugh now, but it has filled a glaring void in my Spanish vocabulary. Some things you just can't learn from books. That's always been my motto.

Hasta luego.
Brian

Packing

Here is a blog, still being tweaked.

So I leave next Wednesday, January 23rd at 7:25 p.m. from LAX, then I'll be in Paris at Charles de Gaulle at 5:55 p.m. on Thursday. I'm very excited, very nervous, and very, very unprepared. Well, time to read all that stuff that Yale gave us at our three hour pre-departure meeting during reading week!